STATEMENT BY SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN ON THE RELEASE OF MAHVASH SABET FROM PRISON IN IRAN

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today on the release of Mahvash Sabet from prison in Iran:

“I join the Baha’i community and the entire nation in welcoming the release of Ms. Mahvash Sabet from prison in Iran. Ms. Sabet, a member of the Baha’i faith and one of the seven members of the Yaran who were wrongly and illegally imprisoned for their religious beliefs, has been released after serving a ten-year sentence in one of Iran’s most notorious prisons.

“As we celebrate the release of Ms. Sabet, the United States must oppose the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran, which has escalated since the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Members of the Baha’i faith in Iran have been killed, imprisoned without due process, and excluded from public jobs and university education. Ms. Sabet’s release is a welcome development, but it is also a reminder that the human rights violations and persecution of the Baha’is in Iran continues to this day.

“I commend Ms. Sabet and her family for their courage during this difficult time and call for the immediate release of the remaining members of the Yaran. They include Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamalodin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezai, Mr. Behrooz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm.”